The Ashes
by AsAmyAsAlways
Summary: My name's Charlie Webster and I'm an exchange student from Australia, staying at Abbey Mount school in England. I was looking forward to a exciting term with great friends and staying on top of my work. What I didn't count on was walking in on the Principal's son in the change room. But as they say, there's no where to go but up...and boy did it go up from there.
1. The Changeroom

As soon as I stepped out of the airport, I immediately turned around and hurried back inside, through the sliding glass doors. It was absolutely freezing. I opened my bag and pulled out three extra layers worth of clothing and quickly pulled them on. It was definitely a change to what I was used to back home. For me, home was Sydney, Australia and when I'd left it had been forty degrees Celsius and here in England my phone read only two. Each year my school picks one girl to go to England to study for a term at Abbey Mount School. The school was very different to mine. Mine was small and struggled to keep itself open as money was tight and they were barely able to scrape together the money to send me this year. But nether the less, here I am, ready for the experience of a lifetime. Here, in England, it was the school's final term, but back home it was only term two. So, as my normal school year was almost half way through, theirs was about to end.

I braced myself and wrapped my scarf tighter around my neck before heading back, out into the freezing wind. It was only six in the morning but there were already black taxis lined up along the turning circle of Heathrow Airport.

"Abbey Mount, please." I said to one of the drivers as I climbed into the back seat.

"Sure thing, Darling." She replied. Abbey Mount was an hour away from the centre of London and as the sun rose over the city I noticed my reflection in the window. Ew, serious jetlag face. My hair was a mess, which was no surprise but this went to a whole new level. It was wavy and brown with sun-bleached ends due to all the time I spent at the beach and it reached a few inches below my shoulders. But today it was all sticking out at weird angles and looked like a family of birds had been living out of it. I used my fingers and combed through the tangled mess until it looked a little more normal. Then I re-applied some powder foundation to my face to cover up the bags under my eyes thanks to the twenty-four hours travel with no sleep. After that, I looked at least slightly more acceptable.

As the hour ticked by and the city gave way to valleys and fields, I started to get more and more nervous. Just the typical nerves of anticipation; butterflies in stomach, sweaty palms and…yep, another bathroom visit was due. However, as I languished in my nervousness, I didn't notice the large manor looming up in front of the taxi. It finally caught my eye and I goggled at it's amazing features. It was a brown brick, u-shaped building with white window details, which made it seem like a mix between Hogwarts and Downton Abbey. It had a neat garden in the courtyard and a gravel walkway leading from the main entrance's steps to the driveway.

"Here you go Miss. Abbey Mount." The taxi driver said as we pulled up in front of the school. I thanked her before climbing out with my suitcase in tow. As I took a deep breathe and looked around at my new home, a tall woman with honey coloured hair hurried down the steps and smiled as she reached me.

"Charlie Webster?" she asked.

"Yes." I nodded.

"I'm Mrs Kingsley, Head Mistress of Abbey Mount. It's wonderful to finally meet you." She beamed.

"It's good to finally be here." I replied, returning her smile.

"Well, come inside. The rest of the school arrived yesterday, but we've assigned you a room and you'll be all ready for when the term begins tomorrow." She explained as she lead me into the large, wood and marble inlaid hallway. As she explained the school rules and what I was to expect here, we walked through winding corridors and I lost count of how many flights of stairs we climbed, but finally we reached room number five-seven-zero. "Your room mates will make you feel welcome and help you with anything you need." Mrs Kingsley finished before leaving me alone in the corridor.

I swallowed my nerves and knocked on the door before pushing it open slightly.

"Hi." I said as I saw four girls bustling about the room. One of them had a Wagon Wheel in hand and had blonde, frizzy hair. Another one with light brown hair was busy sorting through her suitcase, beside two more, both with dark hair who seemed to be arguing about a shirt. As soon as they saw me, they all stopped what they were doing and turned around to look at me. The room was silent except for the bang of the door as it closed behind me. "I'm Charlie." I added.

"Oh, Charlie. Nice to meet you." The one with light brown hair said. "I'm Kate. This is Kiki…" she said and pointed to one of the dark haired girls with a floppy side fringe, who smiled at me.

"Josie…" Kate continued, pointing at the other dark haired girl. "…And Drippy." She finished and pointed to the girl with the Wagon Wheel.

"Hi. Nice to meet you all." I said, returning their smiles.

"Are you from America?" Drippy asked.

"No. I'm the exchange student from Australia." I replied.

"Oh, that's so cool." She replied and she paused before adding shyly: "Did you know, you can only get Tim Tams in Australia?"

"Yes, I did know that." I replied and opened my bag. "That's why a brought enough to last me the term. Help yourselves." I grinned and held up two huge packs.

"I love you." Drippy said happily and practically fell onto them.

"Don't let Matron catch you with those. I suggest locking them away." Kate suggested and I nodded at her advice.

"Long day of travelling?" Kiki asked.

"Kind of." I replied.

"Well, why don't you go down to the change rooms, have a shower and then we'll be quiet so you can catch up on some zs." She advised.

"That's the best advice I've had all day." I replied.

However, that was easier said then done. This school was like a rabbit warren, but after twenty minutes of wandering around, I finally found the change rooms. There were benches along each wall and two in the middle of the room, with a sidewall jutting out to hide the room from the toilets and the opposite wall had a long line of showers with lockable wooden doors. One of the showers was already occupied and I dumped my clothes on one of the centre benches, before pulling my jumped over my head and then my t-shirt. I was about to un-zip my jeans, when whoever was in the shower turned off the water and opened the door. I glanced up and expected to see a girl but instead a boy around my age, with blonde curly hair walked out. For a second I froze in horror. This wasn't happening.

I only had a split second before he noticed me, so I spun around and ducked behind the brick wall, but I mustn't have been fast enough.

"Who's there?" he called. I squeezed my eyes shut and hoped that if I didn't reply he'd think he'd imagined it. "Hello?" he called again and I heard him walking towards where I was hiding.

"No, no. Uh, stay there." I said back, worried that he would come all the way around. There was a moment of silence as he realised it was the voice of a girl.

"Uh, you can't be in here." He said.

"Aren't you the one in the girls change room?" I retaliated.

"I'm pretty sure those are urinals over there." He said and I could hear the smirk in his tone as I looked beside me and saw the wall of urinals. I cursed inwardly and hit the wall with the back of my head in annoyance. I chanced a glance around the wall and saw the boy with his arms folded and white towel wrapped around his waist smirking at me and I quickly hid back behind the wall.

"Oh, well, uh. My mistake. It's been a long day." I stammered. "Could you please turn around?" I asked.

"Sure." He chuckled and I looked around the corner to see him walk back over to the showers and face the wall. I took my chance and ran out from behind the wall, hurriedly pulling on my t-shirt as I reached my things. "Uh, thanks." I said as I grabbed my things and ran out of the room before anything else could go wrong.

After checking I was in the right change room I showered, changed and then hurried back up to my room, begging that I wouldn't run into that boy on the way back to my room. I burst back into the room and sighed in relief that I'd finally reached a safe zone.

"Are you okay? You look very frazzled." Kate asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just almost took a shower in the boys change room." I admitted and sat down on the end of my bed.

"You what?" Kiki gaped.

"Did anyone see you?" Josie cried.

"No, thank goodness." I lied.

"Wow. What an introduction to your first day at Abbey Mount." Kate laughed and I couldn't help but laugh as well. I looked down at my bag to find my phone when I noticed only one pack of Tim Tams on my suitcase.

"Um, where did the other packet go?" I asked no one in particular.

"Well, um, you did say to help yourselves." Drippy said quietly a handed me back the empty.

"Fair enough. I did. I'll see if my parents can send over some extra supplies." I grinned.

Not long after that I lay down on my bed and almost as soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep, dreaming of what life would be like at Abbey Mount.


	2. Don't you need horses for that?

The next morning I was started awake by a loud bell ringing outside. I looked around the room and saw the others beginning to stir.

"Come on. Time for breakfast." Kate said as she threw back her covers and pulled a checkered skirt out of her suitcase. "Matron delivered a uniform for you, Charlie." She added and pointed to the end of my bed where a neat pile sat on top of my suitcase. I rolled out of bed and put on my new school uniform, which consisted of a white shirt, black cardigan or jumper, a blue, green and grey checkered skirt and matching tie, black, knee-high socks and a grey blazer with the school's crest on the breast pocket. As I followed the others down to breakfast I hurriedly pulled my hair back into a high ponytail and tied a white ribbon around the elastic.

We walked into a large hall, which had long wooden tables and benches down one side and opposite them was an especially large table where Mrs Kingsley and the other teachers were waiting. I stood beside Drippy at the end of one of the tables, facing the doorway we'd just come through, as the rest of the school filed in.

As I was looking around the long hall, a tall blonde girl came and stood in front of me. She had bright, blue eyes and her curly hair was pulled back into a braid. Her uniform was impeccable and she was flanked by two other girls who stood behind her.

"Harriet. Head girl." The blonde girl said and stuck her hand out towards me.

"Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Charlie." I said, shaking her hand.

"Mm, pleasure." She said a little too sweetly, as she looked down her nose at me. I didn't say anything and just smiled at her, ignoring the attitude.

"Hm. Australian?" she asked.

"Yes." I replied.

"I thought so. I've been to Australia before. We stayed in Circular Quay." She said pronouncing 'Quay' like an A.

"Ah, it is lovely there. But it's actually pronounced 'Quay' as in 'Key'." I said, trying to be helpful.

"I know. I was just testing you to see if you knew what I was talking about. You know...you don't seem like the scholarly type." She said and I was surprised at how openly rude she was.

"Well, perhaps I'll surprise you." I said with a smile.

"Just make sure you know the rules of respect around here. Teachers, prefects, scholars, students, vermin, bogans." She said, putting extra emphasis on the last word. "As you were." She smiled, before turning and walking majestically away.

"Ugh. Stay away from her if you can. She may seem sweet and caring, but she'll only be that way to those she knows she can walk on." Kiki said.

"Thanks for the advice." I smiled nervously.

"Well hello, Freddy." Drippy said beside me. I looked in confusion to where she was looking and at that moment I wished I was anywhere but here, I wished I could turn invisible or sink through the floor, but unfortunately none of those wishes came true. Walking through the doors and making his way over to the head table was the same curly haired boy I'd met in the change rooms.

Okay. As long as he doesn't see me…as long as he doesn't see me. He's seen me. As he walked past our table and joined the heads, he happened to glance our way and while the others smiled at him I became very interested in my shoelaces.

"Find the change rooms okay?" he asked. I looked up quickly while I dug my nails into the palms of my hands.

"Yes, thank you." I said between slightly clenched teeth and he grinned before turning around and joining the head table.

"What was that about?" Josie asked me.

"I'll explain later." I promised as Kate looked down at her watch.

"And cue Harriet in three, two, one. Contact." She counted down and I watched as Harriet walked over to Freddy and began speaking with him. Up at the head table, Mrs Kingsley rang a small bell and everyone began to sit down, so I followed suit as plates of toast started to be handed round.

"I love that Freddy's always here." Drippy said happily.

"Um, who _is_ Freddy?" I asked.

"Mrs Kingsley's son. Devastating heartthrob. He goes to school at our brother school further up the road, but he lives here with his Mum." She replied. The Headmistress' son. Of all people.

"And are he and Harriet a, thing?" I asked.

"Oh, she wishes. Poor guy." Kate laughed.

"So, what's this about change rooms?" Kiki asked me.

"Yeah. Plus, when he came in you went bright red." Josie added.

"Okay, yesterday, I lied. Someone did see me." I admitted.

"Oh no. It wasn't…it was." Drippy gasped, realising what I was saying and I brought my hand up to my forehead. "Were you…were you, decent?" she asked.

"Just." I replied. "But it was still totally embarrassing."

"Well at least you weren't naked." Josie said.

"And an added bonus. You didn't see Harriet's face when he came to talk to you, but it looked like steam was about to pour out of her ears." Kate giggled and I couldn't help but laugh too.

An hour later I sat between Josie and Drippy in our first class of the term. Geography. My favourite and best subject at my school back home.

"Good morning, class. For those of you who don't know me, my name's Mrs Erhope." The teacher said writing her name onto the whiteboard. "Today we'll look at an introduction to the four spheres." She said. Something I'd been worried about coming here was whether I'd be able to keep up with the work because I knew they had a different curriculum to what I was used to, but thankfully I'd studied the Earth's spheres the year before.

The rest of my classes didn't go too badly and I was just heading back to my room after the last one, where I rounded the corner and collided with someone coming the other way.

"Sorry." I said quickly, bending down to pick up my books that were now all over the floor.

"No worries." The person said as they bent down too and I couldn't believe my luck as I recognised the voice.

"This just keeps getting worse." I said, looking up at Freddy Kingsley.

"Yes, we really should stop meeting like this." He replied as we stood up and he handed my books back.

"Let's start over." I said and held out my hand. "Charlie Webster. Nice to meet you." 

"Freddy Kingsley." He said, shaking it.

"Freddy, there you are." I heard Harriet's voice from behind me and if I wasn't mistaken I could've sworn Freddy rolled his eyes a little. "I was wondering if you could do me a favour. You…!" she began as she saw me and her eyes flashed in anger when she noticed our hands were still linked.

"Good luck." I said to Freddy before giving him a sympathetic smile and hurrying away, leaving him deal with the roth of Harriet.

"Man! What a day!" Drippy said as I opened the door to our dorm. She was lying face down on the floor with her books spread around her. "Two chapters of maths homework, a whole novel to read before next class and already an assignment for geography." She said, her voice muffled from the carpet as I picked my way between books.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself. We've still got lacrosse training tomorrow." Kate reminded her.

"That reminds me. Charlie every girl at the school tries out for the lacrosse team but since you're an exchange student you immediately make the team because you're only here for a term and every girl must partake in some sporting activity at the school." She rattled off. "So, since the tryouts were last year, you automatically qualify."

"Right." I said, taking it all in. "One problem. I've never played lacrosse before."

"That's okay. It's pretty easy to get the hand of." Kate added.

So, the next day I changed into the school sports uniform and followed the others down to the field in front of the school.

"Hello girls. It's good to see you all again." A tall woman in a tracksuit said to us. "And welcome to lacrosse Miss Webster. My name's Miss Rees-Withers." She said and I smiled at her. "Have you ever played lacross before?" she asked and I shook my head.

"Maybe she should be a reserve." Harriet suggested.

"Thank you for you suggestion Harriet." Miss Rees-Withers replied. "Do you play any sports back home?"

"I play softball." I said.

"Well I'm sure it will come in handy. It's all sticks and balls really." She said and began handing out lacrosse sticks.

"Um, don't you need horses to play lacrosse?" I said to Kate as we collected a stick and a ball between us.

"No, that's polo you daft idiot." She laughed.

Between Josie teaching me the rules of the game and Kate helping me with my stick work, I think I finally had the hang of lacrosse. We had a practice game between ourselves and it was Kate's team versus Harriet's, and the score was one all.

"Charlie! Catch!" One of the girls yelled to me and I put all my effort into concentrating on the round, yellow ball flying towards me. Even though it was only a practice round I didn't want to let the team down. Everything seemed to go into slow motion. I jumped to catch the ball and it was going to land right in the centre of the net, when someone barrelled into me, pushing me off course. As Harriet rammed into me and caught the ball I fell face first into a huge patch of muddy grass. I looked up just in time to see her shoot the ball past Kate and into the goal.

"So sorry about that. At least you're more at home in the dirt, bogan." Harriet said as she walked past me. I don't think she expected me to retaliate, but I stuck out my foot and tripped her up, so she fell into the mud too.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." I said sarcastically and I went to get up, but she grabbed my shirt and pulled me back into the mud.

"Hey! Hey! Break it up!" Miss Rees-Withers yelled at us in between blowing on her whistle, as I threw a handful of mud at Harriet. Harriet and I both looked up as there was the sound of a car's horn being beeped from the road. Of course, as usual the only person to see me in my most embarrassing situations was Freddy Kingsley, sitting in an old green car. Harriet leapt up and I went to get up too, but she leant on my shoulder to stand up and as a result pushed me back down.

Instead of trying to get up again and more than likely being pushed down once more, I stayed on the ground, crossing my legs and folded my arms in defiance.

"Shouldn't you guys be in bikinis for that?" Freddy asked.

"Hey Fredster. Diggin' car." Harriet said cooly.

"Hello, Miss Webster." He said to me.

"Hi." I replied, waving my hand vaguely as he grinned and then roared away. "What?" I asked Harriet as I stood up and saw her glaring at me.

"Girls. That is no way to behave or settle your disagreements." Miss Rees-Withers scolded. "In usual cases I'd send you both to see the Head Mistress but I'd like you both to act your age and work it out like the young ladies you are. Yes?"

"Yes, Miss." I said glumly.

"Of course, Miss Rees-Withers." Harriet said humbly and I restrained from rolling my eyes.


	3. What's New, Kingsley?

It had been a week since lacrosse training and ever since Harriet had been making not just mine, but the rest of my dorm's lives a misery. Drippy had been especially upset when Harriet told Matron about her secret stash of Wagon Wheels.

The girls and I decided to give her a taste of her own medicine and have devised a seamless plan. Being Head Girl meant that Harriet had certain privileges, like her own parking spot in the teacher's underground car park and she could go into town during her free classes. Harriet was also a stickler for school rules, so Kate and I had gotten our hands on one of the school flags, which bore it's crest. We then set to work covering over some of the images on the shield. We replaced a book with pictures of alcohol and a bouquet of lilies with a muscled and very tanned man in only a pair of underpants. And on the other side of the flag we stuck a large image of Harriet with a drawn on moustache, beard, mono-brow and gold crown.

We then snuck down to the teacher's car park, which luckily was empty. We attached out new flag to a sturdy stick and sticky-taped it to the back number plate of Harriet's car.

So she wouldn't see it, we bent the stick back and tucked the corner of the flag under the wheel, so once she drove off, the flag would spring up and she wouldn't know about it.

"What are you up to down here?" I heard someone ask and Kate and I spun around to see Freddy looking skeptical.

"Nothing." I said.

"We dropped something and it rolled down here." Kate said calmly.

"What did you drop?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Duct tape." I said, holding up the roll of tape, my poker face on point. "It just got away from us so easily." I added shaking my head in disappointment.

"Right." He said slowly as footsteps came down the steps of the carpark.

"Crap!" Kate hissed.

"Quick, under the car." I said and we crawled under the car beside Harriet's as Freddy watched in amusement.

"Freddy. What a surprise to see you down here." We heard Harriet's voice say.

"Harriet." Freddy greeted.

"I'm just heading into town. Did you need anything?" she asked getting into her car and I had to nudge Kate to stop her from giggling.

"No thanks." Freddy replied.

"Okay, bye then." Harriet said and started her car. We watched as the back wheel rolled off the flag and it sprang into the air, and from underneath the car we watched Harriet drive up the ramp with our flag waving proudly in the air. We couldn't keep it in any longer and we burst into laughter.

"So that's what you were up to." Freddy said as he looked under our car. Kate and I wriggled out and managed to get our laughter under control.

"Keep your mouth shut, Kingsley. Or I'm afraid we'll have to kill you." I said seriously. He held his hands up in surrender and backed away.

At lunch, later that day the girls and I saw Harriet in her car, returning to school, without the flag, which meant she'd probably seen it along with most of the town. Mission Accomplished.

"So, what classes does everyone have?" I asked.

"Maths." Kiki and Josie said together.

"English." Kate said.

"French." Drippy sighed. "What about you?"

"I've got a free period." I replied. "I need to make a start on this geography assignment."

"But don't forget girls. We have the social coming up." Kate said and seeing my confused face she explained. "This term, we have two socials. One hosted by our brother school and the other hosted by us."

"Yeah, and then at the end of every term there's a ball." Drippy added.

"Wow. British people like to party." I said. "When's the social?" I asked.

"Saturday." Kate said.

"Is it compulsory?" I asked.

"Oh, Charlie you just have to come. You'd be mental not to." Drippy insisted.

"Oh, but I don't have a thing to wear." I said dramatically. "Nothing wintery anyway. I didn't think it'd be this cold here."

"I know the perfect place." Kiki said.

"It's settled then. On Saturday morning, we shop." Josie said pretending to hold her fork in the air like a sword.

After lunch, I collected my textbook and notebook from the dorm, and since it was such a lovely day I decided to sit outside on one of the benches near the field to do my work.

I put my earphones in and settled into my note making. I'd only gotten a page written before someone pulled out one of my earphones, making me jump. I looked over my shoulder and saw Freddy leaning on the back of the bench, looking over my shoulder at what I was writing.

"Studying?" He asked.

"Yep. You probably didn't recognise me. After all you've only ever seen me making a fool of myself; dropping my books everywhere or covered in mud." I replied.

"Or half naked. You forgot that one." He added jokingly.

"I see _you_ haven't." I replied.

"Of course not." He laughed before looking back over my shoulder. "How the hydrosphere interacts with the biosphere." He read.

"Yes, and unlike you I am working hard." I said as he jumped over the back of the bench and sat next to me. I tried to keep reading but I could feel him watching me, so I crossed my leg and sat on the bench sideways so that I was facing him. "What's new, Kingsley?" I asked.

"Are you going to the social on Saturday?" he asked.

"I don't know. This assignment has to get done and socials aren't really my scene." I shrugged.

"Well you should consider coming. It's always good fun." He said.

"I'll think about it." I shrugged.

"What's your assignment on, anyway?" he asked.

"Biophysical interactions." I said. "How the spheres interact with each other."

"Wow, that sounds…fun." He said and I chuckled.

"Don't you have something called 'work', to do?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, I do. So, I'll head off and you, can go to…maths?" he read looking at my timetable.

"Crap! I do." I started, jumping off the seat. "It was nice to see you again and uh…maybe I'll see you on Saturday." I said, facing him as I walked backwards towards the school.

"You'll have a good time. I promise." He said and I waved before hurrying off to class.


	4. Formalities

The rest of the week went by in a flash and before I knew it, I was on the bus with the others heading into town to go dress shopping. The little town had a wine shop, hair dressers, charity shop, a pub and a service station. I followed the others as they headed towards the charity shop.

"I don't mean to be picky and spoilt, but do you really think we'll find something in here?" I asked them.

"You'll never know what gems you'll find." Kate said knowingly. So I swallowed my pride and followed them in. The five of us spent the next half an hour trailing through the shop picking out dresses and shoes. We eventually had a selection of outfits and we showed them off to each other.

Kiki had chosen a grey and silver dress with thick straps and a sequined bodice, with grey tulle for the skirt, finishing just above her knee. Kate had a simple orange dress with floral straps. Josie had found a long black skirt and tucked it into a white corset with long sleeves and Drippy had a brightly coloured dress in light green, which accented her hair perfectly.

I'd showed the others two choices so far but neither of them had really worked. My last chance was a little seventies but it was the last one. I opened the curtain and waited for their judgment. It was a dark blue, long sleeved completely sequined dress that finished above my knee. The neckline was high and had a zipper on the back.

"Wow. That one's perfect." Kate said.

"You'd be absolutely mental not to wear that one." Drippy said. "I'll even bet you all my Wagon Wheels that you'll get asked to dance by at least three boys."

"Wow, Drippy. You are confident." I laughed. "Alright, let's get these and we'll head back."

"Not yet. We have one more destination." Kate said.

"Where are we going?" I asked once we were back out in the street.

"To get some juice." Kiki said.

"I'm assuming that the juice I'm thinking of, isn't the juice you're thinking of." I said.

"No. It's not." Josie replied as they headed towards the wine shop.

"What do you think they're gonna get?" I asked Drippy and Kate as we waited for Kiki and Josie.

"I know what you're thinking and don't worry, it's nothing gastly. They'll get some cider." Kate assured me.

"Okay." I laughed nervously.

Soon the pair came out of the shop with two bottles wrapped in brown paper bags. "How did you even…" I began. "…know what? I don't really need to know." I decided.

By the time we got back to Abbey Mount it was well into the afternoon. As we walked back to our dorms we saw girls running between rooms with hair straighteners, curlers and make up in their hands. Having five of us was an advantage because it made things much faster. We sat in a circle with our backs to each other as we did each other's hair. Drippy was behind me, curling my hair and I straightened Kate's hair in front of me.

Once we'd finished I changed into my dress and applied some black eyeliner, silver eye shadow and a pale lipstick.

"Cheers, girls." Kiki said as she passed around a paper cup with cider in it. I took a sip and was taken aback by how different it tasted to the ones my parents used to let me try at home. As I would later find out, even one cup of cider on an empty stomach was a bad idea. But, nevertheless I pulled on a pair of black heals and followed the huge throng of girls out to the waiting buses that would ferry us the few minutes up the road to the boy's school.

The busses were full of chatter and a mix of different types of perfume but it was exciting and I was glad that I'd decided to come afterall. It was a bumpy few minutes but we soon arrived at St Paul's School for boys. If Abbey Mount looked like Downton Abbey, then St Paul's would've looked like Hogwarts except without it's turrets. The girls and I were on the last bus and were the last ones to enter the school. We walked up the front steps, turned left and then turned into a small hall which had balloons floating at the ceiling and who I assumed was one of the teachers as a DJ.

I walked behind Kate and the others, feeling a little self-conscious as everyone seemed to know each other already. As the others talked to a group of boys, I stood beside them awkwardly looking around to try and look interested in something. I didn't take too long to find something interesting to look at. On the other side of the room I spotted Freddy in a black suit and pale blue shirt, and he'd been cornered by Harriet who was chatting away, not realising that he wasn't really listening. He gazed around the room and I gave him a quick smile when his eyes found me.

A strange look appeared on his face; it was a mix between a smile, and an impressed and slightly awe struck look. I stupidly turned around to see who he was looking at, and I felt myself go bright red when I realised he was looking at me. I was about to start making my way over to him when a tall, extremely good looking boy held out his hand to me.

"Hello, I'm Josh. Nice to meet you." He said with a dazzeling smile.

"Charlie. And it's nice to meet you too." I smiled back and shook his hand

"Would you care to dance?" he asked.

"It'd be my pleasure." I replied and as he lead me onto the dance floor, I looked over his shoulder and saw Kate and Drippy giving me the thumbs up. I glared at them and they went back to their own conversations as I danced with Josh. However, it wasn't long before he lost interest and moved onto a girl named Catherine.

I looked around to see if Freddy was still cornered by Harriet and as I suspected he was and looking desperate at this point.

"Evening Harriet, Freddy." I said as I joined the pair.

"Hi." Freddy said. "You look lovely." He added casually.

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself. You look great too, Harriet." I replied and realising that she no longer had Freddy to herself anymore, Harriet flounced away.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked.

"Sure." I replied with a smile. He slipped his hand into mine and I held onto his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around my back.

"I'm glad you came tonight." He said.

"I'm glad I did too." I replied. "It beats assignments."

"Can't argue with that." He grinned.

"Are you okay? You've gone white." Freddy asked.

"Yeah, just a little dizzy." I replied, taking a deep breathe as a wave of dizziness swept over me. "I might just go out for some fresh air."

"I'll join you. It is quite stuffy in here." He said and I followed him through the hall, past Harriet and her minions and out into the foyer where a heavily embroidered couch was waiting.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My friends, they bought some sort of super strength cider." I said.

"I see. Better not let Matron find it." he advised.

"I think we'll be fine. Somehow I get the feeling that this isn't their first time. " I said, shaking my head.

"So, I didn't know lacrosse was a contact sport." He said, reminding me of my mud fight with Harriet.

"Well, that's how we do it in Australia. Every sport's a contact sport." I said.

"Even lawn bowls?" Freddy asked.

"They're the worst of them all. Those retirees are viscous." I said with complete seriousness, which made him laugh.

"Speaking of sports, I go on a cricket tour on Monday, but I'll be back in two weeks. And I was thinking you might like to go into town with me. I can show you what the English beaches are like." He said.

"I would like that very much. But are you sure Harriet won't mind?" I teased.

"She's not my girlfriend." He said, a little confused.

"And does she know that?" I laughed.

"Well, you never know. She might cotton on soon." He smiled and leant forward to kiss me on the cheek. "Oh crap." He muttered as he sat back and I followed his gaze to see Harriet's two minions, Charlotte and Jane, standing in the foyer.

"Fraternising with the girls, Freddy Kingsley is not allowed and you know it." Charlotte said.

"Charlie Webster, back inside." Jane said, and I gave Freddy a tiresome look before getting up and heading back inside, where I found the others sitting in a group of chairs at the side of the hall.

"Where have you been?" Josie asked me as I joined them.

"I don't know what was in that cider you bought, but it's just earned me a trip into town." I said.

"What? With a boy?" Kiki asked.

"Was it Freddy?" Drippy asked and I nodded, which made them squeal.

"What? Why is this so exciting?" I asked, confused.

"Oh, you sweet child. You're going on a date." Kiki laughed.

"What? No, he's just showing me around town." I replied. No one replied, except they all raised their eyebrows at me. I sighed and gave in. "Well, I've never been on a date before. How was I supposed to know." I finished and they chuckled.

"And how was your night?" I asked them, changing the subject.

"I think it's safe to say that everyone had their fair share of hits, but Drippy took home the trophy." Kiki said.

"Eight boys came up and directly spoke to me." Drippy grinned.

"Wow, Drippy. Nice work." I said.

"Thanks. Now I just need to beat my score at _our_ social." She laughed.


	5. Close Your Eyes

The next morning I was jolted awake by Kate's alarm and as the rest of the room began to stir, there was a combination of groans as everyone woke up. I turned over and looked at my clock.

"Crap! Guys, it's seven-thirty. The game starts in half an hour." I cried, having completely forgotten about the first lacrosse game of the season. The groans were then replaced by cries and shrieks as everyone leapt out of bed and began pulling up socks and grabbing mouth guards. We ran through the school and made it to the field just in time for the start of warm-up.

"All right girls, if we lose today, we're out of the season for good." Miss Rees-Withers said. "Now let's get out there and make it count!"

I ran onto the field with the others, lacrosse stick in hand. I'd been assigned the position of goal defence and I was determined not to let them down. For my first game, I didn't think I was doing too badly, although I did miss a few catches and fumbled a few balls, but by the end of the first half the score was one-nil, to the other team.

"Don't worry girls, we can still bring this back. I'd like to make a few changes, Charlie I'd like to try you on Goal Attack and Harriet, you can take defence." Miss Rees-Withers said, and then the second half began.

The ball was tossed into the air and Kiki caught it, dodged a huge girl and then threw the hall to Kate. She looked around for anyone who wasn't being swamped by the other team.

"Kate! I'm open!" I yelled and she threw the ball to me, which I thankfully caught. I turned around and ran towards the goal. A girl ran at me, but I spun out of her way and suddenly the only person between the goal and me was the keeper. I went to throw it to the right and the keeper reached for it, but at the last second I threw it to her left and the ball hit the edge of the goal and bounced in.

"Ah!" I yelled in triumphant and surprise. The rest of the team cheered too and when the ball was tossed into the air again the team had a feeling of determination about them. I caught the ball and passed it to Josie who dodged and weaved before passing it to Drippy.

"Don't pass it to me!" she yelled as she caught the ball.

"Drippy! Shoot!" Kiki and I yelled, and she screamed as she launched the ball at the goal and it sailed straight between the keeper's legs as the final time bell rang out.

"Yes, Drippy!" I yelled as I ran at her and hugged her. "You shot the winning goal!" I yelled at her.

"I shot the winning goal. I shout the bloody winning goal!" she screamed as the rest of the team rushed towards her.

"And a special mention to our under eighteen's lacrosse team who won their game in the first round of the regional all girl's schools competition. And congratulations to Charlie Webster and Jennifer Logan who scored the two goals." Mrs Kingsley announced at the school assembly the following Monday. "Also, I want to remind everyone that as we value the relationship we have with our brother school St Pauls, we will be attending the grand final of the under eighteen's cricket team to show our support and they will come to the grand final of our under eighteen's lacrosse team." She said and some of the hall groaned. "Now girls, we need to show our support for our peers." She finished and the hall fell silent.

The next few weeks sped by. Assignments came and went, lacrosse practice was going well and we'd even one our second and third game. Freddy had returned from his cricket tour and today was the day he was going to take me into town. Or on a 'date' as the other kept insisting it was called.

"That goal was incredible." I said to Kate as we trooped back to our dorm. "You shot it in from like, half way down the field. We are not worthy." I said, pretending to bow down to her as we entered our room. I changed out of my dirty uniform and pulled on a jumper, a pair of jeans and a pair of black boots.

"Hey, Charlie." Drippy called and pointed down into the garden. I joined her at the window and saw Freddy waiting by his car further down the road so we wouldn't be seen 'fraternising'. The two weeks had gone quickly, but I hadn't realised how much I'd missed seeing him around until now.

"Do I look okay?" I asked, the excitement from the others turning into mine into nerves.

"No. You look horrendous." Drippy said and I gave her my best puppy-dog eyes. "Of course. You look fine." 

"Have fun." Kate said.

"Thanks guys." I replied. I hurried out of the room, flew past Matron and jumped down the front steps.

"Top of the morning to you." I said in an Irish accent as I reached Freddy and he grinned as he saw me. "How did the cricket tour go?" I asked.

"Really well, thank you. We're in the grand final." He said.

"Congratulations." I cried. "And if we're in the lacrosse final then St Paul's comes to watch us."

"Well, if lacrosse is as entertaining as the show you and Harriet put on, then I don't think you'll have any trouble getting an audience." He teased.

"I look forward to the day you're old and grey and can no longer remember that." I replied.

"Never." He laughed. "Come on. Let's hit the road."

"I can't believe this is your car." I said, admiring the dark green convertible. "It's beautiful. An MG right?"

"Yeah." Freddy said, slightly surprised. "I didn't take you for a car person."

"Please, I've got three brothers." I replied, climbing into the seat. Freddy roared the car into life and revved the engine before driving off, down the gravel road.

It was a beautiful day and the warm sun was nice against the cold wind. It wasn't long before we drove into town and Freddy parked beside a small pub overlooking the sea.

"Wow." I said, looking out over the water.

"Come on." Freddy said and headed over to a set of steps that lead down to the dark, pebbly sand.

"How 'bout a race? Stretch our legs." I suggested.

"Okay…go." He said and pushed me back a few steps before sprinting away.

"Oh, it's so on." I said and raced after him. We leapt down the stairs and I overtook him as we reached the sand. "Victory!" I cried, punching my fists into the air as I reached the water's edge and turned around to see where Freddy was. "Ah!" I cried as he barreled straight into me, wrapping his arms around me as we stumbled to a halt, Freddy using me as his breaks.

"I want a rematch." He said, letting go of me as I laughed. "Welcome to your first English beach." He panted.

"It's amazing." I said, looking around. We sat down on the sand and chatted about this and that.

He was an only child and his Father was in the Navy and had been posted in France for three years. His Father had gone to St Paul's and represented the school in cricket, so Freddy was hoping to win the grand final and follow in his footsteps.

"So, what's school like in Sydney?" he asked me.

"Very different. Very different." I said. "Most of the classrooms are demountables and no one's really heard of it before, but they've been sending people to Abbey Mount for thirty years and they do their best to continue the tradition. I'm just grateful they chose me."

"I'm glad they chose you too." Freddy said and I looked away, trying to hide my smile. "You hungry?" he asked.

"A bit." I replied.

"Great. I have something I want to you try." He said and pulled me up. We headed up to the bar, where I sat a table in the back as Freddy ordered some food. I looked up as he came back to the table carrying a plate with a pie on it.

"Now. Do you trust me?" he asked, not putting the pie down on the table.

"Why?" I asked curiously and tried to look at the pie, but he just put it behind his back.

"Because I want you to try an English delicacy but I don't want you to be put off by the sight of it." he said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's called Stargazey Pie." He said.

"If it's got a name like Stargazey Pie, then it can't look that bad, surely…right?" I asked, not knowing if I wanted to know the answer or not.

"Well, you decide." He said with a grin. "But believe me when I tell you it tastes better than it looks."

"Alright. Fine." I said, giving in.

"Okay. Close your eyes." He grinned, and I shook my head as I closed my eyes. "Open up." He said and I reluctantly opened my mouth as he fed me a piece of the pie. "Keep your eyes closed, but how is it?" he asked.

"It's…fine. I was expecting something weird, but it tastes like fish and potato, and it goes surprisingly well with the pastry." I observed.

"Excellent. Now open you eyes." He said and I opened them. I looked down at the pie and my eyes widened as I clapped my hand over my mouth. It looked exactly like a normal pie, except for the fact that it had four fish heads sticking out of it.

"Oh my goodness." I gasped. "What is that?!" I cried, as Freddy tried to get his laughter under control.

"Stargazey Pie." He laughed.

"Is that…normal?" I asked as Freddy continued to laugh. "Dude! I can't believe you let me put that in my mouth." I laughed.

"You let me." he said holding up his hands. "But was it horrible?"

"Well…no." I admitted.

"So if I ask you to try something else, do you trust me?" he asked.

"... You're skating on very thin ice here. But, yeah." I laughed.

"That's okay. Close your eyes again." He said and I rolled my eyes, but obliged. I waited for him to give me something else to eat, but instead I felt his warm lips on mine. My eyes flew open and when I didn't see him back away I closed my eyes again and enjoyed the moment. I hadn't kissed anyone before. I could feel myself blushing as he pulled away and I only just managed to contain my grin.

"There's something different about you Charlie, but I just can't put my finger on it." he said.

"Different. Good different?" I asked quietly.

"Good, amazing different." He replied and I glanced down at his lips before looking back into his blue eyes. I leant towards him and he did the same, our lips meeting once again, as he brought his hand up to my face and held my chin gently.

On the way back to school, Freddy let me drive and neither of us said anything, but it was a comfortable silence. Once we neared the school I pulled over where I'd met Freddy earlier.

"So…" I said awkwardly.

"So…" Freddy said with a smiled.

"So, I guess I'll see you at your cricket game." I said.

"I guess so." He said through a small grin.

"Thank you for today." I said sincerely. "And if you affect my life in no other way, you will always be the one who made me eat Stargazey Pie." I added.

"Hey, don't forget the fact that you liked it _and_ had more." He pointed out.

"Fair point." I laughed. "But honestly, thank you." I said and kissed him on the cheek before heading back to the school.


	6. Ups And Downs

As I walked through the school, it felt like I was floating, and when I got back to my dorm I was met with Kate, Josie, Kiki and Drippy sitting on the floor with popcorn.

"Um…hi?" I said.

"We've got the food, now we just need every detail. Tell us exactly what happened." Drippy said and I grinned before flopping down onto the nearest bed.

"Best. First date. Ever." I said, before rolling off the bed and joining them on the floor. I told them everything in great detailed and when I told them about our kiss they went mental, as Drippy would say.

"I don't want to burst your bubble, but Harriet knows you went into town with Freddy." Kate said.

"Charlotte and Jane must've overheard you at the social and they told Harriet, but she couldn't know what happened because they had a prefects meeting today."

"Thanks for letting me know, I'll keep my head down." I replied.

The next morning at breakfast I waited with the others for the prefects and teachers to take the head table. As Mrs Kingsley walked in, followed by Freddy I glanced over at him and he had a small smile on his face, which I returned before he joined the head table.

"Watch it. Harriet's watching." Drippy whispered as she nudged me and I looked over to see Harriet clenching her cereal spoon tightly in her fist, glaring at me.

The rest of the week seemed to drag on but the weekend eventually arrived and the girls and I were sitting on the bus, heading to St Paul's to watch their cricket game against Kent, their main rivals.

The morning was freezing and everyone was wrapped up in scarves, beanies, jackets and boots.

"I can't believe we have to sit out in this cold for four hours." Kiki grumbled, pulling her beany over her ears.

"And we already know who's going to win." Josie added.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"St Paul's always wins. It's been that way for the last decade." Kate explained and she was right. By the time they'd reached the three hour mark it was five for three-hundred-and-twenty-six, which as I'd explained to Drippy meant that five batters had clocked up three-hundred-and-twenty-six runs between them and the other team hadn't even batted yet. However, by the time St Paul's was out of batters they were on six-hundred-and-seventy-one and Kent only had half an hour to catch up. I cheered with the rest of Abbey Mount as St Paul's took to the field, with Freddy as Wicket Keeper.

The first out came from the bowler, who bowled the second batter out for a duck. The second came from a spectacular catch from the outfield. The player pretty much sprinted and launched himself into the air, somehow managing to catch the ball before it went over his head.

The next out came from our very own Freddy. As the batter went to hit the ball, it only nicked the side of his bat, and with a mix of instinct and pure reflexes, Freddy reached out and caught it with one hand as the siren sounded. The crowd erupted into cheers as the St Paul's team tackled each other to the ground. As they slowly made their way back to the stands I waved to Freddy and gave him a thumbs up as he grinned back at me.

"Well done, boys! Excellent catch Freddy! That was simply amazing!" I heard Harriet calling, but he either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her.

As the players headed off to their change rooms, everyone started making their way back to the buses, but I decided to congratulate Freddy before heading back. So after telling my friends that I'd meet them back at the dorm, I made my way down to the change rooms. I waited around the corner for ten minutes or so, feeling a little awkward as all the players trooped past me, but Freddy wasn't with them.

I decided to go and find him, so I rounded the corner and walked towards the change rooms. There were a few steps leading down to the entrance around a small corner, and when I rounded it, what I saw made my heart sink instantly. I'd found Freddy. With Harriet. Kissing her. I stood there for what felt like minutes, but was only for a few seconds before they felt someone's presence and when Freddy looked up and saw me, a look of horror spread across his face. I didn't know what else to do, but turn around and walk away.

"Charlie. Charlie!" Freddy called after me, and caught my arm. "I didn't kiss her. She kissed me. I came out of the change rooms and suddenly she was just there, right in front of me." He said as I turned around to face him. "You do believe me, don't you?"

"I-I don't know." I replied. "I mean. I want to believe you and I'm sure you are telling the truth. But I saw you, and you didn't back away."

"Charlie, I'm so sorry." He said, looking down at his feet. "I don't know what to say." 

"Neither do I." I said, shaking my head. "But if you want to be with Harriet, then I won't get in the way." I said, before leaving him in the hallway as I walked back to the buses.

"Worst week after best first date ever." I said miserably as I walked back into the dorm.

"What do you mean?" Josie asked.

"I just saw Freddy kissing Harriet." I said glumly, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"What?!" the others cried in surprise.

"No way!" Kiki said.

"Did he see you?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, and he said that Harriet kissed him, but I was watching for a few seconds and he didn't seem to be trying to get away." I said.

"Well how long was it?" Drippy asked. "Because it takes a person three seconds, on average, to register that they're being kissed. The first second is the surprise, the next second is oh my goodness, someone's lips are on mine and then the third is like, OMG, this person is kissing me."

"Um, it was about…" I said, counting on my fingers. "five or six."

"Oh dear. Freddy, you're in trouble." Drippy said, shaking her head.

"But I don't get it. I didn't think he had any feelings for Harriet." I said, trying to reason with it. "I mean, he could've just been overwhelmed by his win and wasn't thinking straight, or it could also be that Harriet knew about our trip into town and she wanted to get between us."

"No. You can't think like that." Kiki said. "Don't make excuses for him."

"What are you going to do?" Kate asked.

"Nothing." I replied.

"What do you mean nothing?" Josie cried. "You're going to make his life a misery, is what you're going to do."

"Thanks for the advice, but I think I'll pass." I said.

"Look, my advice is that if Freddy really wants to be with you, then he'll do whatever it takes to get you back." Kate said. "We've all seen the way he looks at you, and if Harriet's noticed too then it must mean it's genuine for her to go and do what she did. So, don't give up on him just yet, but don't make it easy for him either." She finished with a smile.

"Thanks guys. You're the best." I said sincerely.

The next morning at breakfast I stood with the others as the prefects and teachers filed in. As Freddy came in, I could see him looking at me out of the corner of my eye, but I refused to return the look, instead, I turned to Josie and struck up an interesting conversation about the dining table. I was curious to see how Harriet and he would interact, and as I ate breakfast I watched Harriet chatting away to him as he silently ate his cereal.

Before the school went to their first classes, Mrs Kingsley stood up to make an announcement.

"I'd just like to make a quick announcement about our school social." She began and the school pricked up their ears. "The last one at St Paul's was a wonderful success and you all conducted yourselves like the lovely, young ladies you all are. As you know, Abbey mount is to host the next one and isn't for another month. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, we are brining the date forwards to this weekend." She announced and loud whispers spread throughout the hall.

"Now, as it's at such short notice, we need your help in organising the night, so if I could have a group of five girls volunteer to plan the wonderful night, I would be very grateful." She said and looked around the room.

"Why don't we do it?" Drippy suggested. 

"Yeah, we can make it perfect and not worry about school work, boys or Harriet. Just have a wonderful night as great friends." Kate said and we all agreed before turning back to Mrs Kingsley, raising our hands eagerly.

"Well, thank you girls. You can choose the theme, decorations, music and snacks. Just nothing I wouldn't agree with." She said and I smiled back at her. This was going to be awesome.


	7. Dance-Off

"First of all, we need to settle on a theme." Kate said as the five of us sat in a circle on the floor of our dorm and I was poised and at the ready with my notebook.

"Nothing tacky." I said. "Something clever and cool."

"What about…" Josie said looking down at her computer screen. "Underwater themed, hippies versus hipsters, Gatsby, classy versus trashy, round the world, come dressed as your Mum..." she read out.

"They're all good ideas, but nothing really stands out." Kiki said.

"Okay, um…what about time travelers." Josie said. "You can come dressed from any era."

"That would be easy to do the music for too." I said. "Just get the ten top hits from the past five decades."

"I like that theme. It's fun, and the charity shop would get cleaned out in an instant," Drippy said.

"Fun and functional." I said.

"So it's settled then? Time travellers." Kate said.

"I'll make some flyers and stick them around the school." I said, pulling out my computer to design a flyer.

I then spent the next hour printing off and sticking the flyers all around the school. I realized that this social had been distracting me from what had happened with Freddy. We hadn't spoken since his cricket final, and I'd reaslied what'd upset me the most wasn't so much that he and Harriet had kissed, I mean of course I was down about that, but it was more so the fact that he hadn't tried to reconcile anything and that wasn't like him. Mind you, I've only known him for six weeks, and I've never had any experience with boys before but he seemed like such a compassionate and loyal guy.

But, as Kate had said, "don't give up on him just yet" so I wouldn't. Not yet anyway.

Along with our social planning, we still had lacrosse practice that afternoon.

"Freddy and I are going to the school social together. He asked me you know." Harriet said loudly as she walked past me, across the field with Charlotte and Jane. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me annoyed. So, instead I swung the lacrosse stick and launched the ball into the goals, only barely missing Harriet's head.

"What did you have for breakfast this morning?" Kate asked. "You're training like a beast."

"I just pretended the ball was Harriet." I replied.

"All right, girls." Miss Rees-Withers said, gathering us together. "We're playing Lady Sarah's College this weekend. I know most of you will be tired from the school social the night before, but you really need to have your game faces on. Lady Sarah's have always been the ones to knock us out of the competition, so I really need you to give it your all."

By Thursday the school was beginning to get excited about our social, and so were we.

"But is it fluro enough?" Drippy asked holding up a bright green, mesh t-shirt.

"If it were any more fluro, you'd need sunglasses." I said. The five of us were dressing in the fluro, eighties work out era, which meant, crimped hair, tights and legwarmers.

Kiki and Josie had raided their mum's old wardrobe and found matching outfits in greens, yellows and purples. Drippy had a bright orange tutu, a light blue vest that said 'Chocoholic' on it and a mesh shirt over the top. We didn't need to crimp her hair but when she put on a pink sweatband; it made her look like a mushroom.

Kate had this strange psycadelic tennis dress, which she pared with pink tights, white sneakers and green legwarmers.

I had a sloppy white vest with the word 'Gnarley' on it, written in rainbow text and underneath it, a yellow camisole. I had a pair of bright pink shorts that went over the top of black tights. And on my feet I had a pair of white sneakers and orange legwarmers. I had blue sweatbands for my head and wrists and a rainbow scrunchiefor my hair.

"Guys, we are going to look awesome." I said. "But there's just one more thing we need. Back home in Australia, at almost every dance, there's a dance-off. Everyone makes a circle and people show off their moves."

"The St Paul's boys always do that, but no one from Abbey Mount ever does." Drippy shrugged."Well, maybe it's time they got their asses kicked." Kiki said.

"What do you suggest?" Josie asked me.

"Let's make up a hip hop routine. Only thirty seconds long or something, that will go with any song." I suggested.

"The St Paul's boys aren't going to know what hit them." Drippy said. And so for the rest of the afternoon we came up with a hip hop routine that not even Flo Rida could beat.

By the time Saturday morning had arrived, everything was organized and ready, and after lunch the five of us headed down to the hall to set up all the decorations. We covered all the walls in gold streamers and decorated the music stand like an old fashioned DJ deck. The tables were covered in brightly coloured cloths and we covered the lights in cellophane so they each glowed a different colour.

We'd only just finished setting up when people started arriving, so we hurried upstairs to get ready.

"Don't burn it!" Kate squeaked as I crimped her hair."Sorry. It's harder than I thought it'd be." I replied, untangling a bit of hair from the crimper.

"Okay. Let's do it." I said, finishing Kate's hair and tying my own up in a scrunchie.

We closed the dorm door and hurried down to the hall, where we were all hit by a proud moment; seeing our decorated hall in action and everyone was dressed up in outfits from the Gatsby era to whatever era the matching tracksuits came from. Even the teacher's had dressed up and I was surprised that most of the boys were as well. I'd have thought they'd think it was a bit uncool. When we entered the hall there was some loud seventies music being played by Mr Nellis, our very own Abbey Mount DJ who was dressed as Elvis and was chatting to Miss Rees-Withers, AKA Amy Winehouse. We made our way over to the side of the hall where Kate rushed over to her friend, or 'Boyfriend That She Keeps Telling Everyone Is Just A Friend Although No-One Believes Her.'

I looked proudly around the hall and spotted a group of boys taking the time travel theme all the way back, in their pirate costumes. I didn't notice at first because of the hat, but I eventually spotted Freddy in the pirate crowd, and before one of his friends could point me out to him, I turned back to Drippy.

"So what's the goal for tonight?" I asked her.

"Five dances and eight direct conversations, with boys that they started." She said, as the music suddenly scratched to halt and Charlotte and Jane hurried towards the entrance of the hall dressed in period tuxedos. Replacing the pop music was the type of music you'd hear in a movie to announce the arrival of a beautiful princess, and as Charlotte and Jane pulled open the doors, Harriet walked royaly into the hall in a long, light brown gown. She'd done her hair up in a braided beehive with little pearls throughout it.

She waltzed up behind Freddy and he turned around as she spoke to him.

"Mr Darcy…" she began and I rolled my eyes. "What undue pleasure it is to be afforded your company." She continued not to be deterred by Freddy's alarmed expression.

"Keira Knightley would be horrified." Drippy said to me, and I snorted loudly earning a glare from Charlotte and Jane.

"Hi." Freddy managed feebly.

"You may only call me Mrs Darcy when you are completely, perfectly, incandescently happy." She finished and Drippy and I laughed as Freddy looked around the room for help. He saw at me and waited to see what I'd do, but I just raised my eyebrows at him. Harriet saw him looking at me, so grabbed his hand and pulled him into the middle of the room where some couples were already dancing.

"Love the outfits, girls." Miss Rees-Withers said coming over to us. "You've done a brilliant job. It looks fantastic."

"Thanks Miss." Josie replied.

The rest of the night went off without a hitch, but it wasn't until towards the end of the social that my friends and I had the best time. Kiki pointed to the dance floor as a group began to form and one of the St Paul's boys started dancing in the centre as everyone cheered him on.

"Ready girls?" I asked.

"Yeah. Let's do it!" they laughed and we ran over to join the crowd. We pushed through them and joined the middle as the boy busted out his best moves before waving his arms at the crowd, challenging someone to one up him. I stepped into the circle and shooed him back before spinning around starting off our dance routine. It wasn't the best dancing ever, but it had the desired affect and soon the St Paul's boy stepped forwards again with three of his friends and they began to dance back.

As they danced, I walked in front of them with the others and we began our polished and well-rehearsed routine, slowly pushing the boys back into the crowd until the whole circle was ours and we'd won Abbey Mount's very first dance battle.

Everyone cheered and swamped the circle and together Abbey Mount and St Paul's enjoyed the last few songs of the night.


	8. Go! Go! Abbey Mount!

"All right Abbey Mount! Let's start scoring!" I yelled, trying to encourage the team. It was our lacrosse game the next morning and it was one all with only a few seconds left on the clock. The ball was tossed, caught by Lady Sarah's College and was thrown at the goal, but was caught incredibly by Kate.

"Yes, Kate!" Miss Rees-Withers yelled from the sidelines. The ball was being prepared to be tossed again when the full-time bell rang out.

"Now what?" I asked Drippy.

"Penalty shoot-out. Best of three." She replied.

"All right girls. Kiki, Charlie and Harriet will take our three shots, and girls just stay calm and keep focused." Miss Rees-Withers advised.

"Come on, Kate!" we all cheered from the sidelines as the Lady Sarah's player got ready to shoot. She scooped up the ball and threw it at Kate, who blocked it with her arm pad and we all erupted into cheers.

The Lady Sarah's goal keeper took her position as there was the roar of a car engine and I turned around to see Freddy jumping out of his car and coming over to watch.

"Come on Kiki! You got this!" I cheered, turning back to the game as she threw the ball at the keeper and it flew under her arm, hitting the back of the net.

"Go Kate! You can!" Drippy cheered as the second Lady Sarah's player threw the ball to the left, but Kate went right and the ball sailed in.

"Focus Harriet." Josie called to Harriet as she was about to shoot, but first made sure Freddy was watching.

"I am, thank you." She replied as she aimed the ball right into the keeper's glove. I shook my head as Drippy smacked her palm to her forehead.

"Go Kate! Go Kate!" we called and cheered as she blocked Lady Sarah's last shot. It was now one all, so if I scored then we'd win, but if I didn't then it would be a draw and the referees would revert back to whoever had scored the most goals throughout the season, which wasn't us.

"Go on, Charlie! If you get this in, we win! But no pressure." Drippy called and I looked down at the ball in the net of my lacrosse stick.

"Come on Charlie. You've got this." I heard Freddy call and I looked up at the goalie. I lifted my stick and aimed high, swinging the stick through the air, but instead of letting the ball sail towards the goalies head, I let it go late and it soared low and flew right between her feet.

"Ah!" I yelled, throwing my stick in the air as the rest of the team cheered and ran onto the field.

"Yes, girls! Now that's how you kick some ass." Miss Rees-Withers cried happily and then clapped her hand over her mouth, realising what she'd just said.

Once the team began to troop back inside, Freddy sidled over towards Kiki and I as we chatted happily.

"Speaking of kicking ass." Kiki said as Freddy joined us.

"It's okay. I'll see you later, yeah?" I said and she gave Freddy her best death stare before heading inside.

"Hi." He said.

"Hi." I replied."Charlie, I'm really sorry…" he began.

"I know…" I interrupted, not wanting to go into it now.

"Just, hang on." He said stopping me."Charlie, I'm so sorry. But I promise I didn't kiss Harriet. She came at me and I don't know why I didn't back off, I really don't. But I regret it. All of it. The kiss, not saying anything to you for the past two weeks." He said. "I want you to know that it wasn't because I didn't care, that I didn't speak to you, it was because I didn't know what to say. I have so much I want to say but couldn't work out to put it so it didn't sound like I was making excuses for myself." He explained. "So, in saying that. I want what we had; our friendship, our good times and our shared appreciation for Stargazey Pie…" he said, which made me smile. "So, I'm going to get you back. I'm still working out how, but I will…if you'll have me." he finished.

"Well, we'll just have to see. Won't we?" I said.

"Watch this space." He said, walking backwards towards his car and drawing a square with his fingers.

"Like a hawk." I said seriously and narrowed my eyes at him as he grinned. That was exactly what I wanted him to say. That he was going to fight for me. He hadn't given up on us and neither had I, and I had every faith in him that he was going to get this relationship back and I was curious to see what he'd do to get it.


	9. New Hope

"Ugh. I hate mid-term exams." Drippy said, dropping her head onto her maths book, lying on the table in front of her.

"They're still three weeks away. We've got plenty of time." Josie said, putting her feet on the table, and then quickly taking them off again, after getting a disapproving look from the lurking librarian.

"Don't run out of time." I warned as I packed up my books. "I'll see you back at the dorm."

"I thought we were studying together." Drippy protested.

"Drippy we've been here for an hour. You've written the title and I've written two essays." I pointed out gently.

"Fine." She huffed. "At least leave them for us to look at."

"Knock yourself out." I replied and dropped the papers on the table before leaving the library.

When I got back to the dorm, I was surprised to find a softball bat leaning up against my bed. I picked it up and let it slide through my hand as I wondered where it'd come from.

I happened to glance out the window and saw Freddy sitting on a bench beside the field, re-strapping the handle of his cricket bat. I wondered if this was his doing, so I headed down to the entrance of the school and made a bee-line for him across the field.

"This you?" I asked, holding up the bat."Finally. I've been waiting here for ages." He replied.

"Well, I was doing that amazing thing called studying. You should try it some time." I suggested.

"Well I was doing this." He replied with a grin.

"And what's 'this?'" I asked.

"Step one for getting you to forgive me." he said, standing up. "I thought you'd like to get back to your normal sport." He added and gestured to one of those machines that shoot balls for you to hit.

"Where did you ever get that?" I asked.

"The school sports storeroom. They won't miss it." He replied. "So…wanna have a hit?""Sure. But this isn't a date." I said, tying back my hair.

"Wouldn't dare." He replied.

So, after setting up the machine, I stood about five meters in front of it and waited for it to shoot the ball. When it came, it was much faster than I thought it'd be, but I swung the bat and it connected dead on, and the ball went flying for about one hundred meters.

"Nice." Freddy said. "Thanks. Your turn now." I replied and handed the bat to him.

"Okay. Watch this." He said, and lifted the bat.

"Okay, first of all. That's not how you hold it." I said, and pushed up his back elbow so it was horizontal. "Move your hands down to here." I said, and pushed his hands down towards the bottom of the bat. I glanced up at him to see him looking at me with a slight smile. "Try that." I said, stepping back.

"Yes, ma'am." He said and swung at the ball, which went right under the bat.

"We'll call that a practice, shall we?" I laughed. "Try keeping your head still and watch the ball." I said and the next ball he hit dead on. "Perfect." I chuckled, seeing his ecstatic grin.

We continued on like this until there was little sun left in the sky.

"So have I earned a few brownie points?" Freddy asked.

"Oh, I think so." I replied. "I guess I'll see you around."

It felt horrible walking away from him like this, but I had faith in him that I wouldn't have to forever.


	10. Another Blow

"Shoot Harriet!" Kate yelled from the other end of the field, and Harriet threw the ball into the opposition's goal as the full-time bell rang out. Another game done and dusted. We were now in the Semi Finals of the under-eighteen lacrosse tournament. However, my excitement was about to be shattered as Mrs Kingsley approached me after I came out of the change rooms.

"Charlie, I was wondering if I could have a word with you in my office." She said, and I nervously followed her in silence. I really hoped I wasn't in trouble.

"Now, Charlie, there isn't really an easy way of saying this, but I'm sure you're aware of the fact that you're school isn't the most affluent establishment." She began and I nodded slowly. "Well, I received an email from the head mistress this morning and they've decided to close the school." She said and my eyes widened in shock.

"So, that's it. It just closed?" I said, trying to comprehend what she was saying.

"Yes, that is correct." She answered. "Unfortunately, this also means that they are no longer able to fund your stay with us, and they only enough money left to get you through the next two weeks."

"So, I have to…leave?" I asked.

"Unless the money becomes available, then sadly that is what must happen." She said. "Believe me Charlie I wish I could help."

"So, there's nothing I can do?" I asked hopelessly.

"Well, I'm….actually, I might have an idea, but I'll have to check it over first." She said thoughtfully. "I'll let you know the outcome this afternoon, but finger's crossed."

"Well, I hope that what ever your idea is works." I said. "And, thank you." I finished before leaving her office and as I passed the front steps of the school, I sat down on the cold stone and rested my face in my hands.

I couldn't leave now. I didn't want to leave now. Not now. What about my friends? Lacrosse? Freddy? Exams? I realised that I would've had to deal with this in five weeks time anyway, but I hadn't realised how quickly the past seven weeks had flown by. And now I'd have to go home, leaving so much incomplete and, thinking about what could've been.

I was so busy thinking about my woes, that I didn't notice Freddy walking up the turning circle.

"You know you'll catch a cold if you sit out here." He said, walking up to me.

"I know." I replied glumly.

"What's the matter?" he asked, sitting down next me.

"I have to leave in two weeks." I replied.

"What? I thought you were staying till the end of the term." He said, surprised.

"I was. Until my school back home closed because of money, and now there's only enough left to pay for two more weeks." I summed up. "And I have no idea what to do, because I don't want to leave and where do I go once I get home?" I sighed and buried my face back in my hands.

I felt Freddy gingerly put his arm around my shoulder, as if worried I wouldn't like it, but at that point I didn't care, I welcomed the comfort.

"You'll work something out." He said, reassuringly.

"I wish I had your confidence." I said into my hands.

"Something will turn up. And if it doesn't, I'll think of something." He said and I heard the smile in his voice.

"Thanks." I replied and managed a small smile.

That afternoon I was back in Mrs Kingsley's office to see if her idea had worked.

"Charlie, I've done some research and emailed the school board and they would be prepared to offer you a scholarship, to finish your senior school education with Abbey Mount." She said.

"So, I'd not just stay till the rest of the term, but until I graduate?" I asked.

"Yes, that is the idea." She replied.

"Wow. That's…amazing. Thank you." I said.

"Well, you won't get it for nothing. Most of the scholarships here are academic, so you'd need to do very well in one of your end of term exams." She said and then brought up a document on her computer. "I had a look over your past marks and geography seems to be your best subject. So, I'd aim for a scholarship for geography."

"What mark would I have to get?" I asked.

"It would have to be a high distinction, so anywhere between ninety and one hundred per cent." She replied. "Don't look so mortified, I have every faith that you can do it.""Thank you, Mrs Kingsley." I said, before leaving her office.

On my way back up to my dorm I passed Harriet in the hallway, with Charlotte and Jane trailing behind her.

"I heard you'll sadly be leaving us soon." Harriet said as she walked past me, but ignored her. "You can go back to Boganville where you belong."

"You seem pretty eager for me to leave." I replied, stopping and turning around to face her.

"You're powers of observation are exemplary." She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Well, in that case you won't be happy to hear that I intend on staying at Abbey Mount until I graduate." I said matter of factly. "I intend to apply for a Geography Scholariship."

"And you really think you'll get it?" she asked scornfully.

"Actually, yes. I will, because I have this wonderful thing called a brain. Something which you seem to be lacking in." I replied smoothly as I turned away from her and continued on to my dorm. After explaining the plan with my friends, I settled down to begin what was going to be one of many long days of studying Coastal Management and the four spheres.


	11. Sabotage

The week before exams started flew by and in no time at all I was waiting outside the exam room with my peers. Now, I never did nerves well and this morning was no exception. I had my teeth clenched together and all I was concentrating on was the sick feeling in my stomach.

"Would you relax? You're making us all nervous." Kate said beside me.

"Do you think there's enough time to go to the bathroom?" I asked, more importantly.

"Nope." She replied and nodded to the entrance of the room where the examiners had started filing people in. I groaned and followed the others inside and waited for the exam to begin.

"You may start." The examiner said once everyone had settled.

I opened the booklet and went straight to the essay section. The question read: 'Examine the effects that either Coastal Management or Deforestation has had on their individual environments, and discuss how the spheres interact with each other in these zones.'

A wave of relief washed over me as I began writing about my Coastal Management strategies, which had been one of the only things I'd been reading about for the past two weeks.

The two hour exams went in a heartbeat, but by the time we put down our pens I was happy with what I'd written. Although some of the multiple choices were a little sketchy, I was confident that I had every chance of getting a high distinction.

"So, how'd you go?" Kate asked as we left the room.

"Pretty good I think." I admitted. "How about you?"

"Eh, alright, I think." She shrugged. "Do you know when you'll find out about what you got?"

"Mrs Kingsley said she'll know by the end of the week." I answered. "It's cutting it close though. I find out on Friday and then I have a week to finalise whatever happens."

"Well, whatever happens, we'll look out for you." She said.

"Thank you, Kate, and I hope you guys know that I'd do anything for you, and I'm very grateful to have you as my friends." I smiled, looping my arm through hers.

The few days leading up to finding out my results were the definition of torture. Every day seemed to drag on and when the day finally arrived I headed for Mrs Kingsley's office first thing in the morning. As I was approaching her office, the door opened and Freddy walked out.

"The moment of truth?" he asked.

"Yep." I replied with a nervous smile.

"Don't worry. There's no way that you can't get it." he said, reassuringly. "Anyway, I'll wait here. I want to here the exciting news."

"You don't have to wait. It's fine." I replied.

"I've got nothing better to do." He said, making him self comfortable on the chair opposite Mrs Kingsley's office. I grinned and shook my head but said no more as Freddy gave me a thumbs up.

I knocked on the door and Mrs Kinglsey called me in. "Ah, Charlie. Good morning." She said.

"Morning, Mrs Kingsley." I replied sitting down in front of her desk. "Have you heard from the school board?"

"Yes, I have." She said and placed my exam paper on the table. "Charlie, I'm very sorry, but you didn't score high enough to get the scholarship. A Credit is very amiable, but you needed a High Distinction."

"Oh." Was all I could manage, as I sat there in shock. How? I was sure I'd done better than that.

"Charlie. I am truly sorry, but there's nothing more that can be done." She said sadly and handed me my exam.

"Thank you." I said quietly and got up. I was about to open the door when I remembered that Freddy was sitting expectantly outside. So, I put on a brave smile and opened the door.

"So?" Was the first thing he said. "You got it right?"

I opened my mouth to reply but I didn't know what to say. I looked down at the floor as tears began to prick my eyes. "I didn't get it." I said quietly. "Not even close." I said, looking back at him as a tear escaped my eye.

"Oh, Charlie. I'm so sorry." Freddy said pulled me into a hug, and I rested my head against his shoulder.

I opened the door to my dorm and I didn't need to say anything for my friends to know what had happened. I dropped my exam into the waste paper bin and sat, miserably on the end of my bed.

"We were so sure you'd get it, Charlie." Drippy said, sitting next to me and putting her arm around my shoulders as Kiki pulled my paper out of the bin.

"Have you looked at it?" she asked, referring to my exam and I shook my head. "Oh, Charlie, I thought you were going to write about Coastal Management." She sighed.

"I did." I replied. What was she talking about?

"No. You wrote about Deforestation. You've got a four page essay on it here." She replied.

"What?!" I cried, getting up to look over her shoulder. "I didn't write this." I said, and took the booklet from her, flipping back to some short answer questions. "This isn't my handwriting." I cried, comparing the two different styles.

"Look. The corner's been re-stapled." Josie added as she joined us, pointing at the top left hand corner.

"This is someone else's essay." I said.

"But how could it be. Yours is the only one they got back." Drippy said.

"What if someone tampered with it?" Kate suggested. "They removed your essay and replaced it with a fake, poorly written."

"I don't know. It sounds a bit extreme." I said. "I mean, why would they?"

"I don't know." She replied. "But there's something weird going on here."


	12. Support From Everywhere

It had been two days since I'd found out I hadn't won the scholarship and I was due to leave today, but Mrs Kingsley had been kind enough to give me an extra week, so I could change plane tickets, organise my things and prepare to say goodbye to everyone.

I stopped outside the assembly hall where there was a noticeboard, which displayed all the notices and messages for students about the upcoming week. The only one of any interest to me was about the lacrosse semi final this weekend. It had listed all the player's names and their positions, but it wasn't any of that which caught my attention. It was the handwriting. It was exactly the same style as that mysterious essay was written in, and signed at the bottom of the page was:

' _Under 18's Lacrosse Team Captain_

 _Harriet Bentley'_

This time she'd taken it too far. I ripped the notice off the board and marched up to the dorm, where I grabbed my exam and compared the two styles of writing. They were exactly the same, even how the a's had a small flick on the end where the line hung over the body of the letter.

I grabbed the two pieces of evidence and stormed up the stairs to Mrs Kingsley's office. I knocked impatiently on the door and opened it as I heard her call out.

"Charlie. What can I do for you?" she asked as I marched over to her desk. I flipped my exam over to the essay and put it on the desk in front of her.

"This isn't my essay." I said loudly.

"Charlie, I'm only sitting a meter a way from you." She pointed out, but still picked up the exam.

"I wrote about Coastal Management, this one is on Deforestation and the handwriting is different." I continued, and then put the lacrosse notice next to the essay. "It's Harriet's handwriting." I finished and sat down.

"This is a very serious accusation you're making." Mrs Kingsley said, looking closely at both documents.

"But they're written in exactly the same handwriting, and it's even signed by Harriet." I urged.

"Listen, even if what you're saying is true the scholarships have already been handed out." Mrs Kingsley said, placing the papers down gently on her desk.

"But, that's not fair!" I cried.

"Charlie, please." She sighed. "I will talk to your geography teacher. He knows how you write and should know your preferred topics to write about. I'll also talk to Harriet, and if your accusations are correct then she'll be suspended. "

"But I can't stay." I finished for her.

"Well, I wouldn't be too quick to give up." She replied and I pricked up my ears. "Just before you burst into my office I received an email, which was sent to the whole school, and attached is a rather lovely invitation to a school fete on Sunday, to raise money for a scholarship for you."

"What?" I asked confused as she turned her screen towards me and I saw a flyer for a school carnival with stalls and rides.

"It seems you've made some wonderful friends here at Abbey Mount, Charlie and they don't want to see you go either." She smiled and I did too but then realised that I couldn't take it.

"I can't take other people's money like that. I can't accept charity. It's not like I'm living in poverty, or I'm suffering from some terrible illness." I said.

"Yes, that is true. But I believe people your age would still attend these types of things even if the money was only going to the school. So, having a honourable cause would only encourage them." She replied. She had a point. I remembered my school used to hold school carnivals to raise money for a new library or new classrooms.

"What would the scholarship be for anyway?" I asked.

"Well it says here, in a separate email to me, that it's for Service to the School Community." She said.

"Wow. I can't believe people would actually do that for me." I said, more so to myself, than to anyone else.

"I think you've made a bigger impact on the school than you think you have." Mrs Kingsley said. "You certainly have a wonderful group of friends."

"There's no doubt about that." I smiled.

After I bid her farewell, I left Mrs Kingsley's office and found my friends out on the field, trooping back up to the school after their lacrosse training. I ran down the stairs and met them halfway.

"You guys are the best!" I squealed and pulled them all into a hug.

"I take it she found out about the fete." Josie laughed.

"I can't believe you'd do this for me." I grinned.

"I'm glad you have so much faith in us." Drippy said sarcastically.

"I told you that whatever happens, we'd look out for you." Kate reminded me.

"I promise that I will repay you guys." I said.

"Excellent. Well, you can start by getting us into the lacrosse grand final on Saturday." Kiki said.

"No. _We_ will get us into the lacrosse final." I replied.

"Let's do it!" Kiki cried, raising her lacrosse stick into the air triumphantly.


	13. Unexpected Surprises

"Drippy!" I yelled and tossed the ball to her. It was semi finals time and we were leading by two.

"Shoot Drippy!" Kiki yelled beside me.

"Stop yelling at me!" Drippy screamed as she threw the ball and it soared past the goalies head and into the goal as the final bell rang out.

"We're in the grand final!" Josie cheered…but whether I'd be there for it was another question.

The field was cleared quicker than usual as the stalls and rides had to be set up, and by the time the sun rose the next morning everything was ready to go. The girls and I were up early that day. I felt a little awkward having this whole fete just for me, so I wanted to help in any way I could. So, since I hadn't been to any classes this past week I'd been busy baking for a cake sale, and I spent the next few hours ferrying cakes and rolls from the kitchen to the stall.

As I walked back towards the kitchens for about the seventeenth time, I passed Harriet with Mrs Kingsley walking briskly towards her office.

I didn't make eye contact with either of them, but I could feel Harriet's eyes boring into me. I made a few more bakery trips before girls started flooding onto the field, and I even saw groups of boys from St Paul's coming down the road to join in.

As the day began, Kate, Josie, Kiki and I realised that it may have been a mistake getting Drippy to help us with the cake stall.

"Drippy! Will you stop eating the cakes!" Kate cried.

"What?! No one's bought that many." She replied, quickly putting a cake down, which she thought we hadn't seen her eyeing.

"Because you've eaten most of them." I exaggerated. "It's only been half an hour." I added with a laugh. "I'll tell you what. Whatever's left over, you're welcome to it."

"And that doesn't mean you can hide some for later." Josie added.

"Fine." Drippy replied, grumpily but it was soon replaced with a laugh.

"You know, I saw Harriet being walked towards Mrs Kinglsey's office earlier." I said.

"Ooh." Kiki cooed. "I wonder if she'll get expelled."

"Mrs Kingsley said she'd get a suspension." I replied.

"Serves her right." Kate said. "By the way, is anyone going to put their names down to be a prefect next year?" she asked.

"May as well." Josie said and Kiki agreed.

"I bet you'll get Head Girl, Kate." Drippy said.

"Oh, I don't know." Kate replied sheepishly.

"How does it work?" I asked.

"People put their names in for prefect and the whole school, plus teachers vote for them, and the two prefects who get the most votes are named Head Girl and Deputy Head Girl." Drippy answered.

"I think we should all put our names forward. It'd be kind of fun." Josie said and we all agreed.

For the next few hours, _four_ of us worked hard selling cakes and slices, while the _fifth_ one taste tested them.

"Man, how do I choose." I heard a familiar voice say and we looked up to see Freddy looking down at the cakes with his mother beside him.

"These look wonderful." Mrs Kingsley added. "I don't know which to get the healthier carrot cake, or that scrumptious looking mud cake."

"How about both, then the mud cake can balance out the healthier carrot cake and you can call it a balanced meal." I suggested and the pair laughed.

"Alright. Why not?" she decided. "I'll be back soon, darling." She said to Freddy as she wandered over to another stall after Kate handed her the cakes.

"We just can't seem to get rid of you can we?" Freddy said to me.

"A Credit is a perfectly respectable mark and besides that wasn't my fault." I replied.

"I heard. Apparently Harriet's gone to face the school's board." He said.

"Still keeping up with your girlfriend I see." I teased and a pained expression crossed his face. "I'm joking. Have a cake."

"Only you would make a stinging remark and then tell someone to heal it with cake." He said with a smirk.

"Cake fixes everything. Right Drippy?" I said.

"Of course." She replied as if it was a stupid question to ask.

"Right." Freddy said, rolling his eyes. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

"See ya." I replied and he left with his cake.

The rest of the day was a wonderful success and I decided that even if we didn't raise enough money, I'd be leaving Abbey Mount on a high.

"How much did we make?" Kate asked Mrs Kingsley as we sat with Miss Rees-Withers and Mr Nellis as they counted the money. Miss Rees-Withers plugged a final number into the calculator and then handed it to Mrs Kingsley.

"Did we make enough?" Josie asked.

"With plenty to spare." Mrs Kingsley smiled, and I couldn't keep the yell in as it escaped my lips. The others whooped and cheered as well. "Girls, really." Mrs Kingsley said, covering her ears.

"Sorry, Mrs Kingsley." We laughed.

"Thank you so much." I added and she smiled before dismissing us.

Once outside her office I wrapped my four friends into a huge hug. "I can't thank you guys enough. I have no words to describe how grateful I am." I said honestly.

"Well, actually it wasn't our idea." Kate admitted.

"What?" I asked surprised.

"Sure, we helped. But it was actually Freddy's idea. He organised it all, we just helped." Drippy said.

"Really?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah. And if that doesn't earn him a few points, then I don't know what will." Kiki said.

"Wow. Well, thank you guys, honestly." I said. "I'll meet you back at the dorm. There's something I have to do." I smiled, before leaving them and hurrying down into the garden to see if Freddy was out there, and sure enough, there he was, getting into his car.

"Hey! Wait up! Freddy. I can stay!" I called excitedly, as I ran over to the road and he got out his car as I reached him.

"That's amazing!" He said happily with a grin on his face.

"But why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"Tell you what?" he replied, leaning on the side of the car.

"About this." I said, gesturing to the field, as the last of the stalls were being packed away. "This was all your idea? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. I thought a surprise would be better. And I knew you'd feel like you were being a burden if you found out before hand." He shrugged, and I understood what he meant even if it sounded a bit confusing coming out of his mouth. He was right, guessing that I felt like I was being a burden on people. I mean, my friends had finished their exams, so they had the time, but Freddy was in the middle of his, and if I'd known it was his idea, I wouldn't of let him go through with it.

"Freddy, I don't know how to thank you enough." I said sincerely. "Honestly, what you've done is just, amazing." I decided.

"Well, hopefully I've earned a few more brownie points." He smiled and I couldn't believe how humble he was. I sighed in amazement before stepping forward and pressing my lips against his.

"Does that answer your question?" I asked with a smile as I backed away slightly.

"It's a start." He grinned and I laughed before kissing him again. I leant against him as I held his face in my hands. Unfortunately, I started smiling, which made him smile too and we ruined our kiss by bursting out into laughter.


	14. Coming To A Close

"I can't believe there are only two weeks of school left." Drippy said at breakfast.

"Thank goodness." Josie said, pushing her egg around the plate.

"Then one more year and school will officially be over." Kiki added and everyone was quiet as we all thought this over.

"This is making me feel depressed. Let's think about something happy." I said.

"Yes! Like the ball coming up, and our Grand Final." Kate said.

"At least we don't have to go shopping for dresses or anything." I added. "This was the only social thing I knew would be happening at Abbey Mount, so I can finally use my own clothes. When is it anyway?"

"It's next Thursday. Then we have the grand final on Saturday and our final day of school's on Wednesday." Kiki listed.

"By the way. Don't forget to put your names down for prefects today." Kate said as we got up from the breakfast table.

"Let's just do it now." I suggested as we headed for the hall entrance and I flashed a smile at Freddy as I passed behind him.

After the five of us signed our names on the prefect list we headed off for one of our last days of classes. Maths came and went, then English, Geography, Health and Food Technology. And then as fast as the lessons went, so did the days and in the blink of an eye it was Thursday and my friends and I were getting ready to head down into the hall where all the boys from St Paul's were waiting. Being England, everything was done the proper way and I loved it.

"So, has anyone got any dances lined up already for tonight?" Kiki asked, as she pulled the zip up on the side of her mermaid style, maroon dress.

"We all know someone has." Drippy said, casting an innocent, sideways glance at me and I rolled my eyes back at her as I pulled out my dress from the cupboard.

"Ooh, that's lovely." Said Kate as she pulled on a pair of heels.

"Thanks." I said. It had been a birthday present from my three brothers, and it must have cost a small fortune, but for three twenty year old boys, they had good taste. It was a blue, short sleeve organza ball gown with a crystal, beaded bodice, and had high neckline. The organza skirt shimmered wherever the light hit it and the bodice was cut away at the back. I was completely in love with it.

"Guys! It's almost seven o'clock." Josie cried. "Hurry up!"

I quickly pulled on my dress and a pair of black heels, fixed my hair into loose waves and put on some subtle make-up. By the time we were ready it was quarter-past-seven and we checked ourselves in the mirror one more time before we made our way down to the hall. Everyone, including all the girls from Abbey Mount were already inside when we arrived at the entrance. I queued up at the back of the line to show the teachers out tickets and to give them our bags, and soon, I was the only one left outside the hall.

"Thanks, Miss Rees-Withers." I said to our lacrosse coach as she handed me back my ticket.

"My pleasure. You go have fun now." She replied and as I walked over to the entrance, my stomach did a flip. I suddenly felt very nervous and awkward. I didn't want to go in on my own, it's embarrassing. I know I was just being silly, but suddenly the English tradition of a grand entrance didn't seem that appealing anymore.

I poked my head around the door and saw everyone talking and laughing. I thought I'd take my chance while they were all distracted to sneak in and find Kate.

I was about to sneak down the stairs when Miss Rees-Withers flew past and clattered down the stairs, making everyone stop and stare. I saw that a few people had seen me peeking like some kind of weirdo, so I swallowed my pride and stepped out from behind the door. A few people went back to talking but most of the room continued to stare and I wished that I could melt into the ground.

'This is so awkward.' I thought to myself as I carefully made my way down the steps. Someone pushed through the crowd in front of me, and I felt a little more at ease as Freddy appeared in front of me.

"Hi." I said awkwardly.

"Uh, hi…" he managed.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Uh…yeah." He replied. "You, um…wow…" he stammered and I tried to stop myself laughing. "…You look, beautiful." He finally managed, sticking his hands into the pockets of his navy suit, which he'd paired with a white shirt and black shoes.

"Thanks. And you look hot…or handsome, of whatever…" I said, just as awkwardly.

"At least I now know I'm not the only one feeling awkward." He grinned, but as the night went on I soon settled into the swing of things and was having a great time.

"I can't believe another school year is almost over." Freddy said as we danced. "Are you doing anything in the holidays?"

"I'm going back home, but I actually had an idea about that." I said.

"And that is?" he asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." I smiled as I let go of his hand and put my arms around his neck.

"When will I find out?" he smirked, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Well if I tell you then it'll be less of a surprise then, won't it?" I said. "But I'll give you a hint. It has something to do with the beach."

"Fine. Let's make a deal, I'll stop asking, if you promise me, that I'll get an awesome tan out of whatever it is you've got planned." He said.

"Deal." I laughed and he smiled as he leant down to kiss me. As our lips met, he held me close as I sunk my fingers into his hair, enjoying every moment. Once we parted, I rested my head on his shoulder and looked over at my friends who were all dancing as well. What a perfect way to end the school year.


	15. Champions, In More Ways Than One

"Well, another school year has come to an end and every girl in this room should be proud of everything they've accomplished over the last twelve months." Mrs Kingsley said in the final assembly. "This weekend is the Grand Final of the under 18's lacrosse tournament and everyone is expected to attend to support our peers." She said and there were a few collective groans. "Kara, I take it you'll be leading the cheerers." She said to one of the groaners. "Now, before we conclude our final assembly, it's time to announce the prefects and head girl for next year." She said and the hall sat up and listened intensely.

"If your name is called out, please come up the front. Our prefects for 2010 are, Lily Nicholson, Alison Wai, Clara Kaplan, Jennifer Logan, Kiki Wu, Josie Cocker and Charlotte Moss." Mrs Kingsley announced and I clapped along as the girls, including, Drippy, Kiki and Josie, stood in front of the hall.

I glanced over at Kate who looked disappointed. I patted her on the shoulder and she gave me a shrug of defeat. "And finally, our Deputy Head Girl and Head Girl." Mrs Kingsley continued. "Our Deputy Head Girl for 2010 is, Charlie Webster." She announced as the hall clapped.

"What?!" I said to myself as I sat in total shock.

"Go!" Kate said and shoved me out of my seat and I wandered up to the front of the room in amazement as Mrs Kingsley beamed at me and my friends grinned.

"And our Head Girl is…Kate Nixon." She announced and the hall erupted into cheers and applause.

If my face had been a picture of shock, then Kate's was one of utter disbelief. "Close your mouth." I whispered to her as she stumbled up to the front of the room, and she closed her gape.

"Abbey Mount, these are your prefects and leaders for 2010." Mrs Kingsley said and the hall cheered.

The next two days dragged on as our grand final edged closer. I'd found out that Freddy had been named Head Boy at St Paul's and Kiki had named us 2010s power couple. When Sunday finally arrived everyone was ready and determined to end their year on a high, and our opponents Mercury Girls College had the same mindset.

"Come on girls. Let's kick some ass!" I cried as we ran onto the field. The team was positively glowing with energy and determination, and it showed in our playing. The score was three – two to Abbey Mount.

"You're playing brilliantly ladies. If you keep playing at this pace we've got a good chance of winning this thing." Miss Rees-Withers said excitedly.

We ran back onto the field, and Mercury College must have gotten some serious pep talk, because it felt like we were playing a new team. In ten minutes they'd evened the scores and were now leading by one.

When there were two minutes to go, no one had scored and Mercury College had possession of the ball. They ran towards Kate in the goals, dodging between Kiki and Drippy. The girl with the ball went to shoot, but out of nowhere, Josie's stick appeared, catching the ball before it even reached Kate.

"Yes Josie!" Kiki screamed and caught the ball as Josie threw it over the heads of the girls from Mercury College.

Kiki dodged between players as I made my way over to the opposite goals.

"Kiki! I'm open!" I yelled and she didn't hesitate before throwing it to me. However, it was too high. I jumped and the ball hit the top of my stick, bouncing high, over my head. I whirled around and stretched out my stick, reached as far as I could and somehow, the ball dropped into the net.

"Shoot!" I heard Kate scream from the other side of the field and I glanced at the clock. Two seconds. I swung around and desperately threw the ball towards the goal. The goalie reached for it and it just skimmed the top of her pad before the ball hit the back of the net.

We didn't even hear the bell, we screamed so loudly. Drippy ran at me and knocked me to the ground in a tackle. The rest of the team then piled on top in the muddy grass. The referee somehow, squeezed into the crowd to hand us the trophy and we raised it above our heads in victory.

Much to the Abbey Mount girls' delight, the St Pauls boys rushed the field to celebrate. Someone ran up behind me and lifted me off the ground, spinning me in circles.

When they put me down, I turned to see Freddy grinning at me.

"Come on, girls!" Kate cried, and dragged the team off towards the pool.

Drippy grabbed my hand and pulled me away.

"What are we doing?" I cried.

"It's tradition. If we ever win an inter-school competition, we jump in the pool." She replied.

"And when was the last time that happened?" I asked.

"Never. I just made it up." She laughed as the gate was wrenched open to the outdoor pool and the team dived in, in full lacrosse uniform.

I barely had time to put down the trophy before Drippy dragged me into the cold water behind her as the crowd laughed and cheered.

"Oh, it's freezing!" I gasped.

"Well it is the middle of winter, dummy." Kiki laughed.

Mrs Kinglsey hid her disapproval for a few minutes, but she soon decided that that was enough and we were all ordered out of the pool. Something about being role models for the younger year groups.

I went to climb out of the water and a hand was extended to me. I looked up to see Freddy shaking his head in amusement. I took it and he pulled me out, my uniform dripping on the concrete edge of the pool. He wrapped a towel around my shoulders and grinned.

"You're mad." He laughed.

"Only a little." I beamed as he put an arm around my shoulder. "Besides it's the holidays."

"That's right. You promised me a tan." He remembered.

"And I shall deliver on that promise." I said.

And sure enough, three weeks later Freddy, Drippy, Kate, Kiki, Josie and I leaning eagerly against the railing on the promenade overlooking Bondi Beach.

"Welcome to my home." I beamed, looking out over the bright sand and crystal clear water.

"Come on girls! Let's hit the beach!" Drippy cried, and we ran down onto the hot sand.


	16. The Story Continues

30 Years Later

"Come on, Lucy. Your hair looks fine." I said to the thirteen-year-old girl in the back of our car.

"Alright. Alright. I just need another hairclip." She replied as I saw Freddy coming down the road from St Paul's to Abbey Mount. I got out of the car to meet him.

"How'd he go?" I asked.

"Fine. Jack found his friends and then left me in the hallway." He replied, a little forlornly.

"You know he'll call tonight. He'll miss his Dad, believe me." I smiled.

"Charlie!" An excited voice squealed and I whirled around to see Drippy and Kate running towards me.

"Hi!" I laughed as they launched into a hug.

"Are your girls already inside?" Freddy asked my two friends.

"Kate's is, of course. Perfect uniform and all." Drippy teased. "I'm still trying to get mine out of the car." She finished and I looked to a few cars down, where two twin girls with big, fluffy blonde hair sat arguing in the back seats.

It wasn't long before Josie and Kiki bounded up, their respective daughters talking with Kate's eldest.

"It feels like only yesterday it was our first day." Kiki said nostalgically.

"There's my favourite son!" A shrill voice came from the front steps and Mrs Kingsley, still Headmistress, came bounding down the steps, which was quite remarkable for her age.

"I'm your only son, Mum." Freddy grinned, hugging his mother.

"That you are. And I _also_ only have _one_ granddaughter." She added, rapping sharply on Lucy's window.

"Come on, young lady. You don't want to be last in on your first day." She said.

Lucy pulled one more piece of hair behind her ear and climbed out of the car. She had my brown hair, but Freddy's piercing blue eyes.

We said goodbye to our daughter and the six of us watched as our children walked into the hall of the same school where our friendships and adventures had begun all those years ago.


End file.
